ICAE Demystifies the Complex Nature of Degree Accreditation

ICAE has recently joined NACES and AICE in being the only credential evaluation membership organizations with UNESCO approval. What sets ICAE apart is that evaluators also have a complex understanding of curriculum development that meets US regional and national accreditation requirements, setting the highest standard for credential evaluation in the industry.

Credential evaluation goes far beyond simply translating transcripts into English. When ICAE evaluators conclude that a foreign degree is the equivalent of a given US regionally or nationally accredited degree, it means that the degree has been thoroughly reviewed to certify that the requirements for the areas of study necessary to meet US accreditation requirements for that degree have been met.

ICAE works with boards of education as well as US institutions of higher education to develop and review curriculum to submit for accreditation In every degree curriculum, the following areas of study must be met for US accreditation: Natural Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences, Mathematics, Electives, and a Field of Specialization – the “major.” The sequence of classes taken, including prerequisites, lower level, and higher level classes, are also important to structure curriculum fit for accreditation in the US. Having completed a major factors into this as well. If a student completes the baseline 120 credits required for a US Bachelor’s degree, but has not completed a major, then the terms of graduation have not been met.

It is important to note that a Bachelors of Arts (BA) and a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree are different in that a BA requires at least 3.0 credits of Language Arts or a Liberal Arts component, and a BS requires at least 5.0 credits of Natural Sciences.

When ICAE evaluators review credentials, whether or not the program meets US accreditation requirements for the degree equivalency are examined closely. ICAE members’ advanced understanding of curriculum accreditation requirements makes the organization the ideal resource for the highest standard of credential evaluation services, raising the standard of excellence for the industry. To learn more about ICAE, visit http://www.academicevaluation.org.